Teeth cleaning tantrums

[Bumperslucious]

We have recently entered the territory of teeth cleaning tantrums. DD (2yr - just) happily 'cleans' her own teeth but now no longer lets me finish up to make sure they are done properly.

Any tips on how to get her to cooperate? I let her do it herself first and warn her in advance that I am going to have a go but nothing doing.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Get a sonic toothbrush - tell her you need to make sure you search for her tickle properly. If you only do a minute with a sonic toothbrush it's going to get more off than 2 with a manual - £14.99 in Tesco at the minute - special offer sonic ones with a two minute timer.

We also do the 'ooh look there's a bit of your breakfast - did you have toast, that looks like toast, open a bit wider so I can get it. Oh look there's a buglet, quick, let me chase it away for you.....'

[notnowbernard]

Had this with dd2, though she's over it now at 2.11

The ONLY way to do it with her was to pin her. It was a 2-man job and wasn't pretty, but nothing else worked (and I mean, NOTHING)

There are some things which are non-negotiable and teeth cleaning, for me, is one of them

[notnowbernard]

God, that sounded awful

[Bumperslucious]

Nope not that bad, notnowbernard, that sounds like how is is for us at the moment. The thing is I am struggling with physically doing it, I can't even really pin her down. Plus she gets so worked up just before bed that it is a less than ideal situation.

A sonic tooth brush is a good idea, I might try that. The problem isn't cleaning teeth as such, like I said, it's allowing us to have a go too. I feel like I am meeting her halfway by letting her do it herself first, letting her put the toothpaste on, but then when I came to do it she was hiding her mouth, spitting the tooth brush out and getting very worked up. Not an ideal forerunner to bed.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Do you remember that mumsnetter who got the cat to clean her daughter's sleep - popping the cat under her arm and pretending the cat was doing it - now that really did make me PMSL!!!!!

[LittleMissBliss]

I know this sounds like a choking hazard,

but i hold ds upside down on my lap and say right let mummy tickle your teeth! He finds it quite funny!

He's the same fine with doing it him self quite looks forward to it in fact!

But gets rather cross if i try and finish them off! Clams up his mouth. We have also done the pinning down method. I am def very strict on teeth brushing. The tatrum was worth the sort-of peace of mind that came with the clean teeth.

Ds is 20m.

[lal07]

We've had this too. Only thing that worked for us was asking DS to 'growl like a lion', 'grin like a hyena' that kind of thing (and these days 'bark like a goat'). It makes him laugh and open his mouth. Takes forever though as he has a go, then we have a go, then he has a go...so will watch this with interest. And try a sonic toothbrush

[kateecass]

Start chart for brushing teeth really worked for us. Also pretended there were sugar monsters in there he'd missed. I think it gets easier as they get older DS is just 3 now and he's fab at brushing his teeth most of the time.

[Bumperslucious]

Thank all, I think the key is more time and patience, and try these fun ways. She is a little young for a chart I think, she won't really get it. It just makes me really cross with her as I think she is being totally unreasonable

[notnowbernard]

Thankyou, Bumper, for not making me feel like Mother from Hell

I think what I was trying to say was, they grow out of it, eventually

We did try all previous suggestions (and some) but only Control and Restaint worked

She is fine and dandy now

[LittleMysMum]

Yes, we've had to do the pin-down technique for a while with ds (2.4), but dp was inspired to see if hippo (bath-glove) was allowed to do it, and he was! We have now had 2 weeks of problem-free teeth cleaning as long as it's not me or dp doing it...

[kimanaaaaaaaaaaan]

Its a struggle for us as well.

Bear hugging works with 20 month old dd. I sit her next to the sink, put one hand around her and put one of her arms behind my back so its out of the way. I use my arm thats round my waist to hold her hand.

This leaves me with one free hand and her with no free hands. She fights it by straighting her legs and trying to stand but I calmly sit her back down and wait for her to open her mouth. Once I start brushing she usually gives in.

[Bumperslucious]

Oooh, puppet is a great idea. We have a giraffe which might be allowed to do it!

[ommmward]

Why not just let her clean her own teeth, since she's happy to do so?

And then make sure there is xylitol sugar in her diet (not to completely replace normal sugar - it's too laxative for that - but it kills the bugs)

and feed her snacks which are good for teeth - hard cheese is a really good one. A nice hard carrot to chomp on?

And make sure she has lots of vitamin D

And if you are serious about avoiding cavities, then limit grains in her diet. But really, vitamin D is the vital thing: link

I'd be exploring other ways of promoting dental hygiene rather than turning tooth cleaning into a daily battle.

[LittleMissBliss]

Ommmward the thing is small children don't actually clean their teeth do they. They suck on the toothpaste and chew on the brush.

If you don't clean their theeth properly plaque builds up. No matter how much cheese or carrots you give them.

I am not letting my ds walk arround with layers of plaque on his teeth! No matter how much of a battle it is!

[Bumperslucious]

Mumsnet is great, LitttleMysMum it worked! DD let Geraldine the Giraffe clean her teeth!

1st night so far, but what a great start!

[dilemma456]

Message withdrawn

[Sparklytwinkletoes]

Glad Geraldine was able to help . We have the same problem, although the negotiating about the number of stories he has is working of late (he's quite a bit older). Will hold puppets in reserve for now.

When he was younger I would get my toothbrush out too and we would each brush our own teeth, then brush each others - it worked quite well.

ought to go back to it

[ommmward]

littlemissbliss - really, please read the link.

Xylitol kills the bacteria that make plaque.

Hard cheese keeps the pH levels in your mouth too alkaline for the plaque to work away at your teeth. Phytic acid is the real enamel killer, and eating hard cheese, or pretty much any cheese at the end of a meal, neutralises it. linky

And vitamin D helps your body to repair any damage. As in, not just arresting any tooth decay but reversing it. That's all there in the previous post.

If I thought thorough daily toothbrushing was the only way of promoting dental hygiene, I'd be more sanguine about the idea of pinning other people down in order to protect them from caries. But it isn't - the hard science is out there, and the old Brush With Fluoride isn't the only answer or necessarily the best one.

[LittleMissBliss]

Thanks for the link, although ds is lactose intolerant so not much use to me. (you can search my history if you think i am just making that up for convenience)

So think I'll stick to the traditional method of a tooth brush and paste to get rid of the plaque. Plus even toddlers get morning breath, that with a lump of cheese first thing....